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Greymouth Star
8 - Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Sarah Stuart
of the New Zealand Herald
Auckland
1. You’re normally a sharp
dresser — what ’s with the
hoodie?
Well, I wanted to wear a pink
scarf I bought in Argentina a
couple of weeks ago but my
flatmate took off with it. I have
about 50 scar ves; I’ve got about
100 ties too. A dozen suits.
I wear lots of my scarves to
rugby on Saturdays and it’s a bit
confronting for the other players.
Where are my suits from? Hugo
Boss. Trackside pays for all your
clothes but I won’t wear its gear.
When you’re MCing an event
or whatever you want to wear a
good suit. I’ve got a $4000 one
actually.
2. Where did your interest in
racing come from?
Like most people, my parents,
but I have always loved the
horses as much as the racing.
My dad was an accountant in
Greymouth but on Saturdays
he’d work at the tote (TAB). We’d
all go too, of course, and I loved
it. My first crush was actually on
a horse called Bonnie’s Chance. I
badly broke my arm and when I
woke up after the operation the
first thing I asked my parents was
whether Bonnie’s Chance had
won her race that night. I was 12.
3. Did you think you could
make a career out of it?
I didn’t think, I knew. I had
my first story published in a
nationwide racing magazine
when I was 15. So I naively
applied for a job as a racing
journalist at the Herald while
I was still at school and was
flabbergasted when they didn’t
write back.
4. Describe your childhood.
I am the ninth of 11 children
and have seven older sisters. Dad
was a really hard-working man
but we never had much money.
Education and sport were big
deals in our house. We went to
church, fought, laughed and ate
a lot of potatoes, because that is
what Irish people with no money
do. When I went to school at five
and realised everybody else didn’t
have 10 brothers and sisters I
felt sorry for them. Everyone in
Greymouth knew us: there were
170 people at our school and we
were 8% of them.
5. What kind of kid were you?
I was a super smart kid. I
could read by the time I was
three because my sister Annette
wanted to be a teacher and so she
taught me. I would be in bed at
night and Mum and Dad would
have people over. They ’d get me
out of bed, give me a pen and
paper, and the visitors would give
me their names and addresses
and I’d write them, just to prove
this three-year-old kid could do
it.
6. What were your early
television appearances like?
Like a budgie on speed. I talk
fast. When you have 10 brothers
and sisters you talk fast. No one
complained though because no
one could understand what I was
saying. Then I met a wonderful
speech coach named Dick Weir.
The man is a saint.
7. You’re part of the Leo
Molloy/Julie Christie clan —
what do you all have in common?
Our mums were the Doolan
sisters and we’ve got about 150
people in our immediate family.
Do we have reunions? Yeah, but
we call them funerals. Like many
people who grew up in small
towns we have a similar work
ethic. I am as proud of them as I
am of all the other West Coasters
who have achieved their goals
because there wasn’t exactly
a Pied Piper walking around
Greymouth leading us all to the
promised land.
8. You’re known for your love
of cars and girls — are you a
Flash Harry?
I wouldn’t say flash — I don’t
wear a watch, have a boat or
waste my day at boozy lunches.
But I have loved cars since I was
mesmerised by a champagne-
gold Porsche I saw when I was
a kid. I thought it was the most
magnificent thing I’d ever seen.
I’ve got a Maserati now. You can
come across as a tool driving
sports cars but I buy them for
me, not anybody else.
9. When have you been at your
lowest and how did you pull
yourself out?
When I was 24 my best friend
took his own life in a violent
way. I had to identify his body.
We had no idea it was coming.
I hit the bottle pretty hard for
a while but that just added
headaches to the heartache. I
decided the best way to honour
him was to work hard and try to
succeed. Then this January my
mum passed away and I couldn’t
sleep properly for weeks until I
got her initials tattooed on my
shoulder, which gave me a weird
sense of calm. Now I take her
all around the world with me,
rub my tattoo and say things like:
“Look Mum, we are in Rio!”
10. You were dumped from
Trackside for four years after
making a bet on credit at the
TAB. How did you cope with
that?
I did something stupid and
lazy so there was no feeling of
injustice. I was comfortable with
what the Racing Board did. And
it gave me the opportunity to
branch into more sports work.
Do I make money from betting?
That’s a tricky one. I’m worried
about the repercussions of that
question. If you asked me if I
was a successful gambler, I’d say
yes. Betting’s never got on top of
me. Like most punters I used to
bet for fun, now I bet to make
money. The difference is research
and the removal of emotion.
11. You’re 44 — why have you
never married?
The last thing my nana said
to me was, “Michael, don’t get
married, just enjoy life.” I took
it literally. Her name was Nancy
Doolan and she was married to
Danny Doolan, who the famous
bar in Auckland’s Viaduct is
named after. Their photo still
hangs on the bar wall. I ’ll get
married one day. Timing is really
important for that. Do I have a
girlfriend? I’d rather not discuss
that. It might be offensive to
some people.
12. How was growing up in a
large family?
It gives you confidence. When
you are genuinely loved by a large
group of people you think: “ Who
gives a f— if that person doesn’t
like me?”
PICTURE: New Zealand Herald
Michael Guerin applied for a job as a racing journalist at the
Herald when he was a schoolboy and was shocked when they did
not write back.
Twelve Questions: Michael Guerin
Michael Guerin — who hates being called Mick — is a presenter on Trackside Tv and
long-time racing editor of the Herald. One of 11 children who grew up in Greymouth, he
is a cousin of Julie Christie and well-known bar owner Leo Molloy.
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